UPDATE on Bend Women's Arrest re: Greg Walden
Rural Organizing Project / Amy Dudley, 22.03.2007 05:13
Rogue IMC brings you an update on the citizen struggle for Accountable Democracy with Congressman Greg Walden. An earlier story reported yesterday is here: 
http://rogueimc.org/en/2007/03/8121.shtml
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ROP Women Arrested after 12 hours of Asking Walden to Listen
Yesterday 6 rural women, several of them grandmothers, locked themselves in the offices of Oregon Republican Congressional Representative Greg Walden. The women showed up at Walden's office to deliver petitions, testimonials and other stories from a huge, locally arranged Town Hall Meeting on the Cost of War that neither Walden nor his staff could bother to attend despite having received notice of the meeting for several months. These town halls were put on in four of Oregon's five Congressional districts and were attended by more than 700 rural Oregonians. They were supported by the statewide Rural Organizing Project in Oregon, but were put on and run by local groups dedicated to human dignity and ending this inhumanity called the Iraq War.
After Walden refused to talk to these brave women on the phone, they refused to leave the office and locked themselves in. One of these women has a grandchild on his third tour in Iraq. One would think she deserved the courtesy of a phone call.
Citizen Report from ROP
The courageous women were arrested around 10 pm Tuesday after sitting in at Rep. Greg Walden's Bend office for 12 hours waiting to speak with Walden and ask him to vote against funding for the Iraq war. With the vote in the House expected as early as today or Thursday and no indication that the concerns of the 2nd District have been heard by Congressman Walden, the women decided to do what they could to make sure that Walden knows his district is calling on him to vote no on more money for the war. But Walden could not find the time to talk with these constituents during the 12 hours they were available at his Bend office.
The 6 women, Kathy Paterno from Powell Butte, Fran Davis from Jefferson County, Betsy Lamb and Ann Havill from Redmond, Meg Brookover and Maggie Miller from Bend, met with the Walden's Ben Legislative Aid at 10am yesterday morning to deliver testimony and the People's Resolution from the 2nd District Town Hall on the Cost of War. The decision to refuse to leave the office was made after months of frustrating communications with Walden's office, beginning with Walden not attending or sending an aide to the Town Hall and culminating with Walden's unwillingness to schedule a phone conference with the women after three weeks of attempting to follow the channels established by the office.
At about 7:30 last night the women were offered a fifteen minute conference call with Walden if they left and returned the following morning. (I guess all you have to do to get a 15 minute conference call with Walden is organize a district wide town hall of over 175 people and then risk arrest by occupying his office for 9 hours. Now that is real accountable democracy!) The women declined. More details on the arrest are below, shared firsthand from Meg Brookover.
The women did an amazing job of mobilizing media attention, including a reporter from KLCC and a local TV reporter from the NBC affiliate in Bend who they called and stayed with them most of the day and were there to film and record that actual arrest ( http://www.ktvz.com/story.cfm?nav=news&storyID=18883).
In addition, the human dignity community mobilized to support this courageous action. From Stand for Peace in Cottage Grove who recorded an interview with Kathy Paterno ( http://www.radio4all.net/proginfo.php?id=22318) to Central Oregon Jobs with Justice who responded to the call for support and gathered about a dozen people outside their building. These women are heroes among us and they are part of our movement for human dignity in rural Oregon. They are unlikely people and live in seemingly unlikely places, like Powell Butte and Crooked River Ranch, but that has not stopped them from leading the call for peace. Nor will we be stopped from continuing our work to stop the war from every corner of Oregon.
Walden and the other members of our Congressional Delegation need to hear from us today as the vote for war funding is imminent. Please call Greg Walden's office in Washington, DC at 202-225-6730 to protest Walden's refusal to even talk with these constituents during the 12 hours that they were available at his office yesterday and to protest Walden's shameful support of this war.
Call your Congressperson and Senators Wyden and Smith today and tell them to vote "NO" on any further funding for the Iraq occupation. Call the DC Congressional Switchboard at 1-800-828-0498. The vote is expected as early as today.
We can all be proud that Walden has heard (and will continue to hear) from his District. Now we have to wait and see if he will listen.
Onward for Peace and Justice!
Amy
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From Meg Brookover, posted early this morning at 12:55am on Wednesday:
Well today was an experience....after being in Rep. Walden's office from 10 AM, finally, the police asked us to leave, and we decided to stay and get arrested.That was at 10 PM. Our purpose in being there was to raise awareness of the Representative's vote on the Supplemental Appropriation for the war. Walden is always a Bush supporter.
The police came in full force....about 6 of them to ask the six of us to leave and we said we needed 5 minutes to talk. They gave us that with the door open. We decided to go for the arrrest. Well, they did that, even though they advised us against it. So, we were handcuffed with metal ones, and put in back of patrol cars, so there were 3 of those and we went to the County Jail, near the State Police office. The reporters had been with us off and on all day, and 2 were there at the door when we were "taken away". We were fingerprinted, photographed and all personal items taken away and we signed in on that. Then, gathered into a holding cell with all of us until we were all completed. We were given warm grey woolish blankets as it was cold in there and any outer clothes were put in our bin when we signed in. We didn't really know if they'd keep us overnight, and that was a little scary! But, they released us .....( they didn't say why, but know the jails are crowded.)! We saw some of our fellow inmates on our way out.
Arraignment is Apr. 13th, and we are charged with criminal trespass 2. (Kathy's arraignment is Monday, March 26th.)
Bob called the jail and was told when he could pick us up, so he came and got us. Got home at midnight or a little after. Am having a little glass of red wine to finish the night!
One of the policeman said that I could "tell my grandkids about this." He also asked me what we were doing and I explained the Occupation Project and he said he thought it was good to stand up for what you think is right. And, I think it is true!
Love,
Meg
All we are saying, is give peace a chance.
--
Amy Dudley
Rural Organizing Project - Advancing Democracy in Rural Oregon
PO Box 1350
Scappoose, OR 97056
503.543.8417
http://www.rop.org
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Register NOW for the Rural Caucus & Strategy Session: Dismantling the War at Home and Around the Globe
April 28th: Corvallis: Register at http://www.rop.org
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If you're calling Walden anyways... 22.03.2007 - 08:41 Besides funding for the Iraq War effort, please also mention your support or opposition to the following (I encourage additions to this list) 1. Accountability from or firing of embattled Attorney General Gone-zales. How DARE they ignore the legal system that is in place for ALL OF US not just we regular folks. -Support subpoenas & open public meetings for Rove, Kyle Sampson, etc. -No document redaction (censorship). 2. Support bill which gives funds to libraries in Jackson County. Appropriations include funding the Iraq war, but with an April 2008 pull-out contingency. Bush has threatened to veto this. 3. Continuation of Public Funding for VA Hospitals, including Walter Reed Medical Center. 4. Relief funding for the 2,000,000+ Iraqi refugees, displaced within their own and neighboring countries as a result of the Bush Crime family's war. 5. Immigration rights for the 500,000 Iraqi refugees who applied to the US. In 2006, Homeland Security only allowed 3,000 people in. 6. Creation of the Office of Scandal Management so the Bush Crime Family can get their stories straight. http://witlist.blogspot.com/2006/02/white-house-creates-new-federal-agency.html
Mike> go get em 23.03.2007 - 13:10 You note that these trespassers are grandmothers. How is that significant? Why would this congressman show up to a bash fest? Would you show up if you were going to be bashed? If I show up at your office and demand to see you right now, are you going to respond? I don't. I don't believe many people do. Hey Mike, did you protest when Billary fired all 93 U.S. attorneys? How does this differ. If the president cannot fire them, who can? Have your own county fund libraries, it is not a federal matter. These Iraqis were displaced by support for their dictator or islam. Neither of which is our problem. Don't let these people in so fast. There may be violent muslims in the crowd. What scandals? Bob> |